Day 4 – Home, Asylum, Scarecrow

Oh wow….some of my favourite episodes! I LOVE LOVE LOVE these episodes!

01×09 god, how weird would it be to go home, to where it all began? The house you should have grown up in? Knowing this is where your mother was murdered and where your father started his lifelong campaign?

I wonder if Sam really did want to go back, I mean of course he wanted to protect someone as a result of his creepy nightmare, but by the same token, i think he also secretly wanted to return. He would have no recollection of this life, of this house, and I can see him going back, seeing the room, the garden, knowing he would have played in these streets, walked to school, taken his first girlfriend down to the diner for a milkshake…he wanted to see what his life could have been like. For Dean? I think it’s the last thing he wants to be reminded of. Having memories, even if they are vague, would have made this extremely difficult for him, I’m sure he doesn’t want to be reminded of what his life could have been life, taken back to the very same spot where that entire future was ripped from him with one small fire.

By the way? HAve always loved this episode.

And I like this, although I wonder if the poltergeist was brought there by their mother in order to entice them to return? And why did it appear now, anyway? If the house is a talisman for evil energy, why did it sit dormant for 20 years?

The kid climbing into the fridge? I used to do that with my brother’s cat on really hot days.

I still don’t really get the little pouch thing..in the end, it was useless, and I thought they had to put one in all directions on each floor? Because it sure didn’t look like it….and if they only had to put one on each floor, in north south east and west, no wonder it didn’t get rid of the poltergeist – they missed 1!

Oh and Sam never knowing it was Dean who pulled him out of the house? Awwww…and then using the exact same words to the little girl at the end? That was beautiful symmetry!

Seeing Mary again…wow….she smiles at Dean, she really smiles at him, walks up to Sam and the moment she tells him she’s sorry, the smile vanishes…..so Dean gets all the lovin while Sammy gets all the hatin…..aww I hope Dean didn’t walk away feeling unloved! And yes, we still don’t know exactly what she’s apologising for, it’s something they’ve been holding out on us….apparently it was meant to be explored in season 3, but with the writer’s strike, that didn’t happen…so here’s hoping we get the full story in season 4!

And what a bastard Daddy Dearest, being there, running to help his sons….but not actually showing himself! See, this makes me all the ore curious about “Faith”…..

Missouri…..Why isn’t she back on the show? I want her back! I LOVE HER! She has been my favourite co-star to date. Well, her and Ellen. They have 2 unbelievably kick-ass heroines on this show, which they underutilise and get rid of, and then give us soppy whiny girls each season……GAH! Bring back the kick ass psychic!

01×10 – I never know where to start with this one. Although I’m extremely amused by the couple – there’s a Hero and an Animorph! Hee…And if you actually get that, yes you do know what sad little sci-fi geek I am.

I have to say, have always loved this one. This is where masochist Petra gets her kicks. After all, what can be ore amusing than Sam shooting Dean full of rock salt? (Shooting him with a proper bullet, but that’s another story for season 2!)

I lvoe the dynamic between the brothers here, how their trip home has changed them. It’s really flared up a storm in Sam, i think the trip back and the potential lifestyle he could have had have brought back memories of his childhood, and made hi think about all the bad stuff, think about running around and doing what he was told and never having the opportunity to lead his own life. I think a small part of him also resents Dean for never standing up to their father, for never carving his own way, but being a good little soldier and doing exactly as told. This definitely comes into play in the next episode.

But here, the whole crazy asylum aspect? Is cool. Particularly since I have stayed in a converted mental asylum, and those things creep you out…particularly in the iddle of nowhere and you’re the only one there overnight!

But one thing I never got – the call Sam gets, which he thinks is from Dean and leads him to the basement? Hello!?! Even the first time I watched it I noticed there was EVP on it…you don’t think he would have gone, hmmm something slightly fishy about this phonecall, maybe I should be a little bit more hesitant, rather than rushing downstairs and getting himself banjaxed by Dr Ellicott? Gah. I thought Sa was meant to be the smart one! (Apparently even stupider when it comes to brotherly lurve)

But still, i absolutely adore right near the end, where Sam apologises for what he said, and he’s saying he didn’t mean it..but you can see on Dean’s face he knows Sam is lying.Because let’s face it, often enough, we’re too polite to say how we really feel, and on these type of shows, possession is a terrific moment for one to actually go into detail about how they feel. I believe Sam was telling the truth, a truth he never wanted his brother to know. Similar to Shapeshifter Dean in Skin….Of course, this exchange hurt little bit more…

even better, is how the episode ends unexpectedly..with a phonecall from Dad…which leads us straight into…

01×11

This? This is one of my all-time favourite episodes. Thinking about it…I think it lies in third place.Maybe 4th. Definitely floating around in my top 5, and out of 60, that’s an impressive count!

I love the fight. I love how Sam has taken this mission unto himself, this passion of his to find Jess’ killer is taking over everything, and Dean is trying to work out where he fits into the whole situation.

Where Sam leaves? Breaks my heart to see Dean’s face. All he’s thinking there is, he’s leaving me. again. and that? breaks me apart.

I also never picked up on this, even though I’ve seen the episode several ties, but I’m guessing I’m slow. The conversation at the beginning? ABout being tracked? That’s why Meg was there. I always wandered where she came from. They traced the call to the boys, when Sam ended up on his own and she tagged along, hoping pretty face would convince Sam and he would lead her straight to Daddy Dearest.

It’s interesting to see the take on a pagan ritual, particularly one of Nordic descent! I love how it’s the perfect idyllic town, everyone knows each other, and in order for everything to stay perfect…they send a couple into the orchards each year to be killed by a scarecrow.

Hmmm.

I love seeing Dean struggle on his own – it’s not that he can’t, he obviously doesn’t like being on his own, which i why when Daddy Dearest went missing, Dean did the only thing he could think of and hunted Sam down. His tumble? IS perfect…and seeing him tied to that tree like a sacrificial lamb? Absolutely mind-numbingly sexy.

Also, I find it interesting, there’s this one snippet, where they talk about sacrifice for the greater good, how sometimes you have to sacrifice what you love for the greater good. I just think to myself, that’s Dean all over, always willing to sacrifice himself for everyone around him. And it shows! He never thinks of himself….never.

Sam and Dean both want to call each other but give up…and in the end, what brings Sam back is having Dean’s approval. I think it’s what he always wanted, someone to tell him they’re proud of him, and he did the right thing. Which is what Dean did, he realised he can’t keep Sam, he has to let him live his own life, and that’s when Sam realised the one person who has always supported him, always being there for him, always protected him, was his brother.

I love this episode.

and this? Means we’re halfway through season 1! WOOHOO!